Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in 1888 to Sir Thomas Chapman and Sarah Junner, who later took the name Lawrence, as the second illegitimate child of five inBritain. A fan of archeology and writing, Lawrence worked at the British Museum in Carchemish, where he learned valuable skills in which to motivate the local Arab neighbors. WhenWorld War Ibroke out in 1914, the British military shipped T.E. Lawrence off to Cairo which later allowed him to become an expert on Arab nationalistic movements. This led to the British and the other ally governments to use Lawrence as a liaison with the Arabs to defeat the Turks and serve under Emir Feisal, a son of Hussein.
Campaigns Lawrence was A Part Of:
The Hedjaz Campaigns
The Damascus Campaigns
The Capture of Akaba
The Syrian Campaigns
The Damascus Campaign
Desert Warfare T.E. Lawrence and Feisal started to partake in raids on railway lines and stations in order to create chaos among the Turkish soldiers. Over 79 railroad bridges were demolished and hundreds of miles of actual railway lines. In order to create destruction on the Turkish troops, the Arab troops and T.E. Lawrence were subjected to harsh desert conditions. The lack of water and a handful of supply stops caused tensions among the different Arab tribes under Feisal and some of Lawrence's men were killed by short-fused Arab soldiers.
Discipline
Since Lawrence was living in the desert with different Arab tribes who were loosely held together, discipline was mandatory and caused constant issues for him. At camp, Lawrence had to settle "twelve cases of armed assault, four camel-thefts, a marriage, two ordinary thefts, a divorce, fourteen feuds, two cases of 'evil eye' and a bewitchment" (military history journal).
The Capture of Akaba
Background
By March of 1917, the Turks in Hedjaz was under control for the time, but Feisal and Lawrence wanted to continue the revolt against the Turks further North into Damascus. In order to accomplish this, Feisal and Lawrence realized their soldiers would have to trek through the desert in order to prevent their Arab soldiers from being noticed or attacked. The only problem was figuring out how to get supplies to the Arab troops in the dry, relentless desert.
The Attack Since there were not any British supply stations in the area, Lawrence realized the only real travel route was a road leading from Akaba to Maan in the northern end of the Red Sea which happened to be in Turkish hands. From his past intelligence information in Cairo, Lawrence knew the Arabs and he would easily be able to capture Akaba, but Wadi Itm would be vastly more difficult due to its strong walls and position near a gorge. Lawrence planned to take local tribesmen to make a wide circuit inland through the desert, where he would attack Wadi Itm from the rear. On July 6, 1917, the city of Wadi Itm and Akaba had successfully been captured and under the control of the Allies allowing an open sea contact with the Suez and a constant supply of necessities.
Significance and Lawrence Afterwards
Lawrence (kneeling in the middle) is gathered around his Arab friends
With the success of the Damascus Campaign and the capture of Akaba, Lawrence became a superstar overnight in the Middle East. Soon, thanks to the opening of the new supply lines, more Turkish troops fell to Arab soldiers and Lawrence. At one time in the following years of brutal conflict, Lawrence was even the victim of torture and rape at the hands of the Turks, which later caused serious emotional and physical conflicts on his life.
Lawrence, in order to gain the support of the Arab tribes, promised the Arabs their own countries in the Middle East and worked to promote Arab independence after World War I was over, which would later conflict with the claim for an Israeli home state in the same area. Because of Lawrence's unauthorized negotiations, the conflict between the Israelis and the Arabs rages on today.
After Lawrence of Arabia returned to England, he began working on "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" in 1919. In his novel, Lawrence wrote of his Damascus military campaigns and his successes in gorilla warfare. In "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom", Lawrence shows off his true literary skills and talents as a writer.
Overview
Thomas Edward Lawrence was born in 1888 to Sir Thomas Chapman and Sarah Junner, who later took the name Lawrence, as the second illegitimate child of five in Britain. A fan of archeology and writing, Lawrence worked at the British Museum in Carchemish, where he learned valuable skills in which to motivate the local Arab neighbors. When World War I broke out in 1914, the British military shipped T.E. Lawrence off to Cairo which later allowed him to become an expert on Arab nationalistic movements. This led to the British and the other ally governments to use Lawrence as a liaison with the Arabs to defeat the Turks and serve under Emir Feisal, a son of Hussein.
Campaigns Lawrence was A Part Of:
The Damascus Campaign
Desert Warfare
T.E. Lawrence and Feisal started to partake in raids on railway lines and stations in order to create chaos among the Turkish soldiers. Over 79 railroad bridges were demolished and hundreds of miles of actual railway lines. In order to create destruction on the Turkish troops, the Arab troops and T.E. Lawrence were subjected to harsh desert conditions. The lack of water and a handful of supply stops caused tensions among the different Arab tribes under Feisal and some of Lawrence's men were killed by short-fused Arab soldiers.
Discipline
Since Lawrence was living in the desert with different Arab tribes who were loosely held together, discipline was mandatory and caused constant issues for him. At camp, Lawrence had to settle "twelve cases of armed assault, four camel-thefts, a marriage, two ordinary thefts, a divorce, fourteen feuds, two cases
The Capture of Akaba
Background
By March of 1917, the Turks in Hedjaz was under control for the time, but Feisal and Lawrence wanted to continue the revolt against the Turks further North into Damascus. In order to accomplish this, Feisal and Lawrence realized their soldiers would have to trek through the desert in order to prevent their Arab soldiers from being noticed or attacked. The only problem was figuring out how to get supplies to the Arab troops in the dry, relentless desert.
The Attack
Since there were not any British supply stations in the area, Lawrence realized the only real travel route was a road leading from Akaba to Maan in the northern end of the Red Sea which happened to be in Turkish hands. From his past intelligence information in Cairo, Lawrence knew the Arabs and he would easily be able to capture Akaba, but Wadi Itm would be vastly more difficult due to its strong walls and position near a gorge. Lawrence planned to take local tribesmen to make a wide circuit inland through the desert, where he would attack Wadi Itm from the rear. On July 6, 1917, the city of Wadi Itm and Akaba had successfully been captured and under the control of the Allies allowing an open sea contact with the Suez and a constant supply of necessities.
Significance and Lawrence Afterwards
With the success of the Damascus Campaign and the capture of Akaba, Lawrence became a superstar overnight in the Middle East. Soon, thanks to the opening of the new supply lines, more Turkish troops fell to Arab soldiers and Lawrence. At one time in the following years of brutal conflict, Lawrence was even the victim of torture and rape at the hands of the Turks, which later caused serious emotional and physical conflicts on his life.
Lawrence, in order to gain the support of the Arab tribes, promised the Arabs their own countries in the Middle East and worked to promote Arab independence after World War I was over, which would later conflict with the claim for an Israeli home state in the same area. Because of Lawrence's unauthorized negotiations, the conflict between the Israelis and the Arabs rages on today.
After Lawrence of Arabia returned to England, he began working on "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" in 1919. In his novel, Lawrence wrote of his Damascus military campaigns and his successes in gorilla warfare. In "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom", Lawrence shows off his true literary skills and talents as a writer.
Resources
http://telawrence.info/telawrenceinfo/index.htm
Http://rapidttp.com/milhist/vol092mm.html
www.abc.net.au
www.theage.au